The invention relates to a bearing shell assembly for a ball joint and a method for manufacturing a bearing shell assembly.
Ball joints are generally known from the prior art and are employed, inter alia, in vehicle construction. For example, they are used as radial ball joints and, in that case, must be able to withstand high radial forces along with low axial forces and large tilting angles. The wear occurring over the lifespan of a radial ball joint can lead to the ball joint causing noises during travel, caused by free play in the joint.
In order to prevent the occurrence of this free play, ball joints already exist in which a pre-stressed spring element is arranged between a joint housing and a bearing shell in the composed state of the joint. Through the pre-stressing of the spring element, the bearing shell is acted upon against the ball head of the ball pin, so that even if wear occurs to the bearing shell, a permanent contact exists between the bearing shell and the ball pin, and no free play occurs between the ball head and the bearing shell.
In addition, it is known to provide an extension on the bearing shell, on which the spring element can be pre-mounted. On the one hand, this facilitates a simple and exact positioning of the spring element in the joint housing and, on the other hand, simplifies the assembly of the ball joint.
In the prior art, for example a bearing shell is disclosed (cf. FIG. 1), in which the extension is constructed as a latching element, in order to enter into a snap-on connection with the spring element (not shown). However, specifically in the case of a preferred production of the bearing shell as an integral injection molded plastic part, the construction of the extension as a latching element involves considerable effort. In particular, the provision of notches for the formation of radially movable detent arms and also the forming of an undercut on the detent arms for the formation of radial detent noses at the free end of the extension is complex with regard to injection-molding technique.
It is a feature of the invention to produce a favorably priced, pre-mounted assembly of a bearing shell and a spring element with as little effort as possible.